THE BAIS HAVAAD PARSHA PERSPECTIVES Parshas Pinchas: Merit vs. Inherit: Deciding Who Will Be the Next Rabbi By: Rabbi Baruch Meir Levin

MERIT vs. INHERIT: DECIDING WHO WILL BE THE NEXT RABBI One could make the argument that in the history of Klal Yisroel there has not been an issue that has caused more contention or has been more divisive than the handling of succession of office. One shudders when one contemplates the truly horrific nature of the controversies that have occurred in the past and that continue to arise regarding who should take over when the existing Rosh Yeshiva, or Rebbe, or Rav (Rabbi) can no longer serve. Often, the argument boils down to merit vs. inherit. One side feels very strongly that the position should go to the man best qualified for the job, while the other side feels just as strongly that the position should be handed down to the next generation as an inheritance. Whose view does Halacha support? At first glance there would not seem to be any basis for the view that succession of office should be handled using the laws of inheritance. After all, the positions of Rosh Yeshiva, Rebbe, and the like are not monetary assets belonging to the father, but rather they’re just contractual agreements made specifically with him.[1] Certainly, if an office manger were to pass away, even in the middle of his contract term, his children would not inherit the right to his job. Why then should these kinds of positions be any different?